Bikes & Riding

Go Shopping

About Us

Trek Travel at Landry's Bicycles

by Levi Bloom on 3/4/05

Last Thursday, Steve and I decided to take a break from our busy schedules and head over to Landry's Bicycles in Natick, MA for a presentation by local Trek representative, Bill Hand. Bill was on hand (pun intended) to tell us about everything going on with Trek in 2005.

Mark Gray and Jack Johnson from Landry's were there too, making sure everyone was having a good time and showing some of the Trek bikes they have in stock.

The first thing I should mention is that Landry's was just named one of the Top 100 Best Bicycle Retailers in the country, and I highly recommend stopping by the Natick store.

We walked in, checked out some bikes, and then while we waited for the presentation to start, we checked out some more bikes. (And, of course, we sampled some of the great food provided courtesy of Trek Travel.) Landry's had bikes from Trek, Cannondale, Specialized, Seven, and more. They also have a slew of jerseys from various teams and riders covering almost a whole wall in the store.

As soon as we sat down we were handed some tickets... Hmm..., does this mean they're raffling off a new OCLV frame?

We also got a couple free Landry's water bottles, so that was pretty cool. Free food and water bottles - it already made the trip worthwhile!

On with the show... Bill started off with a video of the OCLV production process, which was pretty sweet. It showed some frames being hand-built in Trek's Waterloo factory and told why they were the best ones out there. The Madone series was prominently featured, and the video wouldn't have been complete without footage of the team riding them!

There was also a clip on the new Pilot series, which is more of a comfort bike, but still top-of-the-line. Trek has also expanded its Women Specific Design (WSD) line this year. Now every bike is available in WSD! Trek's mountain bikes didn't get much mention, which was a disappointment to me, but I guess the majority of riders in the area are roadies. Worth noting is that Trek has some new Fuel EX models, which are differentiated from the regular Fuel line by an extra inch of travel (4" instead of 3").

The "main event" of the evening wasn't all about bikes, it was about riding them. During a Trek Travel vacation, you get to enjoy a great cycling destination while perched upon a nice Trek Madone! Trek Travel offers get-aways in various locations around the globe for all ability levels. You can even ride with Lance!

As good as the presentation was, our highlight of the night was the raffle! There weren't any frames, but there were some sick prizes - stuff like USPS jerseys, Tour de France t-shirts, hats, and more.

I picked out a sweet Trek pedal wrench, with a nice wooden handle and its own leather carrying case. Steve snagged a Nike TdF t-shirt, and then we both got a pair of Bontrager Buzzkill bar ends. These bar ends cancel out high-frequency road vibrations, so it's like turning your aluminum bar into a carbon bar, but without lightening your wallet so much!

That was about it for the show, but Steve and I stuck around to get some pictures with the Landry's guys, as Landry's is the #1 sponsor of the Babson Cycling Club. Not only did we get some nice pictures, we also brought back a USPS yellow jersey since we remembered what OCLV stands for! (Yeah, the one you've seen in bike shops for $150.)

If any Babson students happen to read this, let me just say, you missed out!

And remember, OCLV stands for "optimum compaction, low void." You never know when it might come in handy!

Bloom Bike Shop provides help for cyclists with bike repair and maintenance information in tutorials, how-to articles, and photo and video. We'll help with bicycle maintenance for road, mountain, cyclocross, and BMX bike riders.